1. Use an old scrap grip panel (preferably) made of the same plastic to practice on... don't use too much heat, develop a time/pressure repetition.
2. Play with different tip shapes and angles of placement, until you find something you like.
3. Did I mention, don't use too much heat?
4. Lay out a basic pattern before you start.
5. Take your time.
6. Post photos of your work and a description of how you did it.

thanks for the heat tip. Not TOO worried about my AR handguards or mags since they can easily be replaced, but I had horrible visions flashing through my head of getting things just right on a piece of junk plastic, and then turning my project into a $500 mistake on an actual pistol!

The heat thing is that you want to soften and shape the plastic, not melt it to the point of it sticking to the soldering iron.
You might want to consider going to a hobby shop and buying a wood burning iron... lower temps to start with and many alternate tips to play with.

$500 plastic grips?!? Where you buyin' your grips man? I know what you mean... just yankin' yer' chain.

Took a look... you did fantastic! Now it's time to start playing with unique shapes, sizes and patterns.

I wish I had a photo of the "Iron Cross" stippling a friend of mine did. He ground and filed a square iron tip to an iron cross shape and impressed that shape in deeply, in a kind of sunburst pattern from the center of the grip out.

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